During a respite from the downpour last week, we found ourselves sitting on a rooftop, under a moonlit sky sipping on a tall glass of fresh watermelon juice concoction, watching a Manchester United game on a large screen. The newly launched Cocoa & Creme gets full marks for ambience.
As a separate vertical under the popular Mathsya banner, this 80-seater vegetarian outlet offers Mediterranean, Italian and Continental options on the menu, along with a bakery menu. "I moved to Chennai in 2019 and joined the family restaurant business; I felt there was an opportunity to provide an outdoor vegetarian experience for continental food in Chennai. The concept of food trucks, a big screen for hosting matches/movies and the addition of the patisserie on the rooftop grew organically during the execution of the idea," says Shruti Bhat, who runs the place and adds that their indoor space can seat up to 40.
The Cream of Corn & Capsicum soup sets the tone for the evening. Mild and light, the warm bowl satisfies with hints of spice and pepper giving it a homely twist. We munch on Italian Cigar Rolls: crunchy pastry wraps stuffed with two types of cheese. As an amuse bouche we happily raid Shruti’s personal stash of green tea sachets and sip on the warm beverage even as clouds attempt to hide the moon.
Soon, we try their Avocado Open Toast, which is a popular dish across city eateries. Here the topping is generous, creamy, with fresh veggies — giving it a guacamole-on-toast feel. Next, boasting finesse, the paper-thin pouches of pastry stuffed with creamy spinach are delicious. For mains, the startling green coloured slider buns stuffed with a veggie cutlet is filling and the pickled gherkin gives it a pop of tang. The gnocchi is creamy with flavours popping on our palate thanks to the chillie cheese sauce. The dessert is a chocolate fondue where you could redeem yourself with fresh cut fruits dipped in molten chocolate. But we went ahead and polished off the marshmallows, waffles and chocolate-stuffed fritters, revelling in the well-curated flavour combos.
Located in Gandhi Nagar. 4 pm to 12 am. Dinner for two from INR 900.